Role of the Lactide:Glycolide Ratio in PLGA Nanoparticle Stability and Release under Lysosomal Conditions for Enzyme Replacement Therapy of Lysosomal Storage Disorders.

Prior studies demonstrated that encapsulation in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) enhanced the delivery of enzymes used for replacement therapy (ERT) of lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). This study examined how the copolymer lactide:glycolide ratio impacts encapsulation, physicochemical characteristics, stability, and release under lysosomal conditions. Hyaluronidase, deficient in mucopolysaccharidosis IX, was encapsulated in NPs synthesized using 50:50, 60:40, or 75:25 lactide:glycolide copolymers.

Screening for Fabry disease in a series of Parkinson's disease patients and literature review.

Background: So far, mutations in genes encoding lysosomal enzymes have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked lysosomal storage disease caused by alpha-galactosidase A (α-GAL) deficiency, leading to deposition of globotriaosylceramide in the nervous system and other organs. We aimed to screen for FD a case series of PD patients from Southern Italy and to review the literature.

Do Routine Laboratory Parameters have Predictive Ability to Differentiate Subjects with Fibromyalgia from Healthy Subjects?

The aim of this study was to evaluate laboratory parameters for investigating their potential predictive ability to differentiate patients with fibromyalgia (FM) from healthy subjects. We carried out a case-control study with 79 FM patients and 20 controls to analyze complete blood count, serum chemistry profile, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The predictive value of these parameters was determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Comparison between Nanoparticle Encapsulation and Surface Loading for Lysosomal Enzyme Replacement Therapy.

Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) enhance the delivery of therapeutic enzymes for replacement therapy of lysosomal storage disorders. Previous studies examined NPs encapsulating or coated with enzymes, but these formulations have never been compared. We examined this using hyaluronidase (HAse), deficient in mucopolysaccharidosis IX, and acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), deficient in types A−B Niemann−Pick disease.

Adolescents' Attitudes to Bullying and its Relationship to Perceived Family Social Climate.

Background: Adolescent attitudes towards bullying are determined by the interaction between individual characteristics and psychosocial development contexts such as the family environment. Our objective was to perform a psychosocial analysis of the differences in reported attitudes towards school bullying between peers according to a series of indicators of family social climate, such as perceived parental support and understanding, punishment and rejection, and disapproval.

Method: 665 students (50.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH): A useful diagnostic tool for childhood conjunctival melanoma.

Introduction: Conjunctival melanoma is extremely rare in children and has low rates of resolution. Definitive histopathological diagnosis based exclusively on microscopic findings is sometimes difficult. Thus, early diagnosis and adequate treatment are essential to improve clinical outcomes.

Effectiveness and Safety of Ustekinumab in Ulcerative Colitis: Real-world Evidence from the ENEIDA Registry.

Background And Aims: The development programm UNIFI has shown promising results of ustekinumab in ulcerative colitis [UC] treatment which should be confirmed in clinical practice. We aimed to evaluate the durability, effectiveness, and safety of ustekinumab in UC in real life.

Methods: Patients included in the prospectively maintained ENEIDA registry, who received at least one intravenous dose of ustekinumab due to active UC [Partial Mayo Score [PMS]>2], were included.

Autosomal Dominant Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration in a Filipino Family with Progranulin Mutation.

Background: Compared to Western populations, familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is rare among Asians. Progranulin (GRN) gene mutation, which is a major cause of FTLD, is likewise rare. We present a family with FTLD from the Philippines with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance and GRN mutation and briefly review reports of GRN mutations in Asia.

Clinical Characteristics, Frailty, and Mortality of Residents With COVID-19 in Nursing Homes of a Region of Madrid.

Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics, 30-day mortality, and associated factors of patients living in nursing homes (NH) with COVID-19, from March 20 to June 1, 2020.

Design: This is a retrospective study. A geriatric hospital-based team acted as a consultant and coordinated the care of older people living in NHs from the hospital.

Effects of Olive Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Fibromyalgia.

We have recently reported that patients with fibromyalgia (FM) may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Olive oil reportedly has cardioprotective effects. We examined the influence of olive oil consumption on cardiovascular risk factors in FM.

Evaluation of self-deception: Factorial structure, reliability and validity of the SDQ-12 (self-deception questionnaire).

We all need to resort to deception, either with ourselves (denial, self-deception, mystification) or with others (with modalities, such as impression management, social desirability), to a greater or lesser extent. Lies, in their broader meaning, are interpreted as something rather adaptive, useful, and necessary in our socioaffective world. In particular, self-deception is a highly interesting psychological concept in the clinical population, namely, in drug dependents, as it serves as a mechanism for maintaining addiction.

Improving Cognition through Dance in Older Filipinos with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are considered a high-risk population for developing dementia and therefore potential targets for preventive interventions. So far, no pharmacological interventions have proven to be effective. Latest evidence has laid the groundwork for the hypothesis that dancing can have beneficial effect on cognition by improving neuroplasticity.

Insight into the biological pathways underlying fibromyalgia by a proteomic approach.

Unlabelled: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a form of non-articular rheumatism difficult to diagnose and treat because its etiology remains still elusive. Proteomics makes possible the systematic analysis of hundreds of proteins in clinical samples. Consequently, it has become a key tool for finding altered molecular pathways in different diseases.

Catecholamine and Indolamine Pathway: A Case-Control Study in Fibromyalgia.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex syndrome characterized by widespread pain. Its etiology is unclear, and diagnosis is difficult. The aim of this study was to assess plasma levels of monoamine neurotransmitters (catecholamines, indolamines, and intermediate metabolites) in patients with FM and healthy controls to investigate possible alterations in the metabolism of these molecules in FM.

[Oxidative stress in perinatal asphyxia and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy].

Birth asphyxia is one of the principal causes of early neonatal death. In survivors it may evolve to hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and major long-term neurological morbidity. Prolonged and intense asphyxia will lead to energy exhaustion in tissues exclusively dependent on aerobic metabolism, such as the central nervous system.

[Bioethics in end-of-life decisions in neonatology: Unresolved issues].

This document is the result of previous work carried out by different expert groups and submitted to multidisciplinary debate at a Conference about controversial, deficient, or new aspects in the field of neonatal palliative care, such as: 1) the deliberative decision-making process, 2) hospital and domiciliary palliative care, 3) donation after controlled cardiac death, and 4) moral stress in professionals. The most relevant conclusions were: the need to instruct professionals in bioethics and in the deliberative method to facilitate thorough and reasonable decision-making; the lack of development in the field of perinatal palliative care and domiciliary palliative care in hospitals that attend newborns; the need to provide neonatal units with resources that help train professionals in communication skills and in the management of moral distress, as well as delineate operational procedure and guidelines for neonatal organ donation.

Response of the Nitric Oxide System to Hypobaric Hypoxia in the Aged Striatum.

Background: Nitric oxide (NO) appears to play a key role in the hypoxic injury to the brain. We have previously reported that hypoxia/reoxygenation downregulated NO synthases (NOS) in the adult striatum. Until now, no data were available concerning the influence of aging in conjunction with hypoxia/reoxygenation on the NO system in the striatum.

Acute hypoxia-induced depletion of striatal nitric oxide synthase pathway.

Hypoxia-induced alteration of nitric oxide (NO) production may lead to brain disease, especially in the areas most sensitive to oxygen deficiency, such as the striatum. To date, the behaviour of the striatal NO pathway under hypoxia/reoxygenation remains unknown and its elucidation constitutes the aim of this work. Wistar rats were submitted to hypoxia (20min) and analyzed after 0h, 24h, and 5 days of reoxygenation.